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Crimean War, 1854-1856. A truly bizarre war Russia versus the Ottoman Empire, Britain, and France British policy: Lord Palmerston Prevent Russian expansion in the Near East Use the Ottoman Empire to do it Stratford Canning, British ambassador in Constantinople. Map Europe.
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Crimean War, 1854-1856 • A truly bizarre war • Russia versus the Ottoman Empire, Britain, and France • British policy: Lord Palmerston • Prevent Russian expansion in the Near East • Use the Ottoman Empire to do it • Stratford Canning, British ambassador in Constantinople
Lord Palmerston (1784-1865) and Stratford Canning (1786-1880)
French Policy • 1690 Ottomans granted the French Catholic Church the right to have jurisdiction over some holy places • By the 19th century the vast majority of pilgrims were Russian Orthodox • Russians got more and more concessions for Orthodox clergy
Steps toward war • Louis Napoleon (elected president of France 1848, then Emperor Napoleon III in 1852) • Tsar Nicholas I • 1853 Russian demanded more concessions at the holy places • Canning advised the Turks to reject them • July 1853 Russians occupied Romania
Napoleon III (ruled as emperor 1852-1870) and Nicholas I (1825-1855)
Steps toward war • 1853 Conference in Vienna to work out a solution • October 3, 1853 Turkish ultimatum to Russia • November 30, 1853 Battle (?) of Sinope in the Black Sea • Napoleon III called on the British to “sweep the Russian flag from the Black Sea” • March 1854 Britain and France declared war on Russia
Where do we fight? • Baltic Sea? • Black Sea, particularly Romania • Summer 1854 Allied landings at Varna • June 3, 1854 Vienna issued an ultimatum to Russians to evacuate Romania • Russians not there anymore • Austrian army entered Romania
How about fighting in the Crimea? • If Sebastopol remained in Russian hands, London was doomed • September 14, 1854 Allies landed in the Crimea • September 1855 Sebastopol fell to the Allies
Peace Negotiations in Vienna • March 1, 1855 Nicholas died and Alexander II became Tsar • December 1855 Austrian ultimatum to the Russians • Free passage of Danube mouth and new agreement for the Straits • Protectorate of all Christians • Neutral Black Sea • Part of Bessarabia back to Turkey
TREATY OF PARIS, MARCH 30, 1856 • European (not Russian) guarantees for Christians in Ottoman Empire • Neutral passage of Straits, Black Sea, and Danube for all shipping • Danube placed under the control of an international commission (still exists) • Status of Moldavia and Walachia to be determined by an international conference • Ottoman Empire admitted to “Concert of Europe”